What the Heck!!! Where's my images ?

[JosBurke]

Well,
I've had my Jobo expert drum 3010 with 10 EXPOSED 4x5 negs of TMAX 400 and my 1500 drum with 3 120 roll of HP5. They've been loaded for a month--(so I'm slow !)--I mixed up fresh everything--Ilfosol S, Fresh Kodak Ind Stop bath, and fresh rapid fix. I got the Jobo up to temp--my basement is about 65 degrees so I get the Jobo and chems up to 70. I did a simple 2 minute presoak, process at recommended times minus 20% (for Jobo), stop bath, and finally a fix for 8 mins. What did I get from the rolls of 120 --nothing--absolutely clear--Hmmm !! Did I load 3 unexposed rolls--no way---on to the 4x5 TMax----all absolutely clear---did I load 10 sheets of unexposed TMax----no way !!! What has happened !!!

 

[bdial]

Any markings or frame numbers on the edge of the 120?
If not, it's likely you started with fixer somehow. As you point out, seems unlikely to accidentally develop unexposed roll film.
Or you have a bad batch of developer. To test, develop a piece of fully fogged film, if it doesn't come out black, then you know.

 

[JosBurke]

bdial,
You are likely correct as nothing on the film--totally clear--hmm ! did I presoak in a diluted fix? Must have !! That's a first for me !! What a waste--I hate to lose those images but they're gone!!
Thanks bdial,
JB

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

The old fixer-first trick is a pretty time-honoured mistake I think, I've read it in many text books from the early 1900's right up until modern day, and I'm sure it existed earlier than that as well.

 

[dancqu]

The old fixer-first trick is a pretty time-honoured mistake ...

I've come close. Keep some litmus paper handy.
Most use an acid fix. If alkaline there may not be
any telling it from the developer. It saved my
having to dump. Dan

 

[George Papantoniou]

As I understand, you had your films stand in the (empty) tank for weeks, haven't you ?

I think then that what happened was what is known to a small circle of specialists as "Homeopathic Fixing". The air in the Tank retained a "Memory" of the liquid that was lastly contained in it (that was fixer, from the last time it was used) and this Memory affected your negatives and fixed them. It's exactly like Healing Homeopathy works for humans, when they drink drops of water (or swallow pills of sugar) and their sickness goes away.

 

[reellis67]

Congratulations, you've arrived! I also think that what George suggested could have played a part, especialy if the tank was not very well washed and the pre-soak absorbed some of the fixer residue from the tank walls. It's easy to get in a hurry and not wash the tank well enough at the end of a session...

- Randy

 

[George Papantoniou]

Randy, I was only joking (I have the bad habit of not including smilies and other stuff when I do)... There's no thing as Homeopathic Fixing. Of course, if the fixer residue in the tank was enough to fix a whole film, that's another story...

 

[Gerald Koch]

Keep some litmus paper handy.

Fixer, whether it be acid or alkaline, has a very distinctive odor. This makes it easy to check which solution is which before use. I always do a sniff test.

 

[Allen Friday]

Been there. Done that. Didn't get the picture.

 

[Ole]

... There's no thing as Homeopathic Fixing. ...

That's what you think...

 

[dancqu]

Fixer, whether it be acid or alkaline, has a very
distinctive odor. This makes it easy to check which
solution is which before use. I always do a sniff test.

The very slightly acid, unadulterated, sodium thiosulfate
fixer I use has no odor. Nor did the carbonated version
I used last night when testing a highly alkaline fix.

Also, I've noticed only the very least amount of odor from
ammonium thiosulfate concentrate. The slightly alkaline,
unadulterated, dilute, working strength fix I use
has no odor. Ph paper is my choice. Dan

 

[argus]

As I understand, you had your films stand in the (empty) tank for weeks, haven't you ?

I think then that what happened was what is known to a small circle of specialists as "Homeopathic Fixing". The air in the Tank retained a "Memory" of the liquid that was lastly contained in it (that was fixer, from the last time it was used) and this Memory affected your negatives and fixed them. It's exactly like Healing Homeopathy works for humans, when they drink drops of water (or swallow pills of sugar) and their sickness goes away.

Hmmm... that opens perspective for an new method of extreme stand development... anyone?

G

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The only time this has happened to me was when my Acufine tank went dead after I hadn't used it for several weeks one summer and it turned out that the air conditioning had gone out for three days while we were away, no doubt killing the developer. Truly a disheartening experience to pull up those blank sheets from the fixer. Now I always test it with a strip of exposed film or leader, if I haven't used it recently.

 

[Mark Pope]

I reckon it was anti-photons. They cancel out the photons used to make an image, hence blank film...

 

[Zathras]

Well,
I've had my Jobo expert drum 3010 with 10 EXPOSED 4x5 negs of TMAX 400 and my 1500 drum with 3 120 roll of HP5. They've been loaded for a month--(so I'm slow !)--I mixed up fresh everything--Ilfosol S, Fresh Kodak Ind Stop bath, and fresh rapid fix. I got the Jobo up to temp--my basement is about 65 degrees so I get the Jobo and chems up to 70. I did a simple 2 minute presoak, process at recommended times minus 20% (for Jobo), stop bath, and finally a fix for 8 mins. What did I get from the rolls of 120 --nothing--absolutely clear--Hmmm !! Did I load 3 unexposed rolls--no way---on to the 4x5 TMax----all absolutely clear---did I load 10 sheets of unexposed TMax----no way !!! What has happened !!!

Not that I'm an expert mind you, but doesn't Ilfosol share a reputation for "Sudden Death Syndrome" with Xtol? I have heard that Ilfosol stock solution does not keep well and being a phenidone/ascorbic acid developer does not discolor when it goes bad.

Mike Sullivan